“To A Mouse”



NAME: ________________________________

“To A Mouse” by Robert Burns

The poem, “To A Mouse,” is the source material for John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.

Summary: After a farmer plows up a mouse's nest, he apologizes to the tiny creature while assuring it that he means no harm. He also says he does not mind that the mouse occasionally steals an ear of corn. After all, the farmer reaps a bounty of food from the land; surely, he cannot begrudge the mouse a tiny harvest of its own. Finally, he tells the mouse that it is not alone in failing to build wisely for the future; men fail at that too.

It is just in Man’s nature to destroy things that are smaller – whether it is physically destroy or verbally destroy.

Stanza Summaries

Stanza 1: The farmer is assuring this terrified little creature that he means no harm to it.

Stanza 2: Apologizes to the Mouse for mankind’s nature and behavior.

Stanza 3: Tells the mouse he understands why the mouse does the things he does such as stealing an ear of corn. The farmer assures that he really doesn’t mind it despite the problems that it may cause.

Stanza 4: By plowing up the mouse’s nest, the farmer reflects on the enormity of the

damage it has caused the mouse, another living thing.

Stanza 5-6: Where the mouse had thought that she was prepared for winter in her comfortable little nest in the ground, now she is faced with trying to survive in a most unfriendly climate, with little or no hope in sight.

Stanza 7: It seems probable that here the poet is really comparing his own hard times with that of the mouse – a life of harsh struggle, with little or no reward at the end. How many times have people glibly trotted out, “The best laid schemes” without realizing that they were quoting from Burns?  The sadness, the despair, the insight contained within this verse are truly remarkable and deeply moving.

Stanza 8: The speaker comes to the realization that despite the despair at hand, the mouse is in far better shape than he because this set-back is only temporary

Writing Assignment:

• You are to create a four stanza poem, of at least four lines each.

• The name of the poem is entitled, “To a Human.”

• You are going to pretend that the mouse is now writing to a human, in response discussing many of the actions of mice towards humans.

• Use the “To A Mouse” poem as a guide for structuring your own poem

Here is a general guide below, but feel free to alter it just a bit for your own style

Stanza 1 should contain:

Line 1: a descriptive line about the human

Line 2: try to reassure the human that you mean no harm

Line 3-4: if the human doesn’t calm down, what would you be afraid to do? (what bad things do mice do that humans don’t like?)

Stanza 2 should contain:

Line 1: Apologize for past actions and for other mice behavior

Line 2-4: Do your best to assure the human that you two can get along and

perhaps what are the benefits of having a mouse around.

Stanza 3 should contain:

Line 1-2: Give examples of things mice might do that “disturb” a human

Line 3-4: Tell the human you understand some of the things he does to

disrupt a mouse’s life

Stanza 4 should contain:

Line 1: THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MICE AND MEN OFTEN GO

AWRY (This is the line you should use)

Line 2-3: Discuss why the human is still better off than you are

Line 4: Ask for an appeal to get along

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